Ark Simulator, don't I have no physical form?

His biological clock woke Su Rui right on time. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was the soft bed beneath him and the warm blankets covering him. Then, the air was filled with a scent that mingled with sunlight, lavender, and a hint of sweet floral and fruity fragrance.

He blinked, and it took him about two seconds to realize where he was—a guest room at the Shivaish Manor. Then, memories of last night flooded his mind like a tide: the knocking at the door late at night, Ensia sneaking in with her pillow, the whispers about Ensia, and… his decision to let Ensia stay.

Su Rui's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. He slowly, very slowly, turned his head to look at the other side of the bed.

Enxia was still asleep. She was facing him, curled up, her long golden hair slightly disheveled and spread across the pillow. Her fair cheeks looked especially serene in her sleep, and her long eyelashes, like two small fans, cast soft shadows under her eyelids. Her hands were unconsciously clasped together in front of her chest; she was sleeping soundly, a satisfied, sweet smile playing on her lips. The blanket covering her was slightly raised because of her curled-up position.

She seemed to be fast asleep, completely unaware that Suri had woken up.

Looking at her unguarded sleeping face, Su Rui's subtle emotions, stemming from "sharing a bed" (though separated by a vast distance), slowly subsided. He gently lifted the covers on his side, moving with extreme care to make no sound, and then silently got out of bed, his bare feet stepping onto the soft carpet.

The room was quieter and colder in the early morning than at night. The embers in the fireplace had long since cooled, and only a tiny sliver of light shone through the gaps in the curtains, providing any brightness.

Suri walked to the window, gently lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked outside. The sky was just beginning to lighten, the eastern horizon barely revealing a pale white, but the sky over Shelag remained shrouded in thick, leaden clouds; it looked like it might snow again today. The manor was quiet; the servants didn't seem to have started their activities yet.

He had to go back. He hadn't returned all night, and although Yera had said "okay," Suri felt a strange, urgent longing to go home. Especially... thinking of Enya. He could almost imagine Enya's expression when she learned from Yera that he had spent the night at Shivaish Manor (even though it was for Enya's sake and safety). Beneath her calm surface, would a barely perceptible hint of disappointment, or... displeasure, flicker in those gentle brown eyes?

Su Rui shook his head, temporarily suppressing his chaotic thoughts. He turned around and began to dress quietly. His movements were light and quick, almost without making a sound. He also carefully put away the coat he had lent to Enxia the night before, which was now folded and placed on the sofa armrest.

Just as Su Rui was getting dressed and preparing to leave the room quietly, a slight noise came from the bed.

Su Rui paused, turning her head to look.

Ensia seemed to be startled by his movement (though very softly), and grumbled in her sleep, then slowly opened her blue eyes, which were still heavy with sleep and misty.

She seemed a little dazed, blinking for a few seconds before she could make out Su Rui, who was already dressed and standing by the bed. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly opened her eyes wide, and her sleepiness vanished instantly.

"Brother Su... Su Rui?" Enxia's voice was hoarse from just waking up and a little flustered. She subconsciously sat up, the blanket slipping off her body to reveal her thin shoulders in her nightgown. "Are you... are you leaving?"

Looking at her sleepy, slightly dazed and nervous appearance, Su Rui nodded, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the servants who might already be up outside: "Yes. It's dawn, time to go back."

The sleepiness in Encia's eyes vanished completely, replaced by a deep reluctance and a hint of... embarrassment at being caught. She realized then that she had actually slept in Su Rui's bed all night! Although there was some distance between them, but... if someone found out...

A blush quickly spread across her cheeks. Suppressing her embarrassment, she hurriedly threw back the covers, got out of bed, and stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet, saying anxiously, "So early? Brother Su Rui, you haven't had breakfast yet! I'll have someone prepare it, it'll be quick! Why don't you have breakfast before you leave?"

Volume 18, Chapter 1223: Enya will be angry.

As Ensia spoke, she started to walk towards the door, seemingly wanting to call a servant.

“No need.” Su Rui called out to her, his tone calm but firm. He looked at Enxia’s blue eyes, which were filled with confusion and disappointment, as she turned her head, and explained, “I haven’t been home all night, I have to leave early.”

He paused, looking at Ensia's blue eyes that had dimmed instantly, and added, his voice softening unconsciously: "Otherwise... even if I tell Yela, Ensia will probably still be unhappy."

Suri spoke those last words somewhat vaguely, even carrying a subtle concern that he himself was unaware of. It wasn't that he was afraid Enya would be "unhappy," but rather... he didn't want her to worry, or cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

When Enxia heard Suri mention her sister, the disappointment and reluctance in her eyes seemed to be replaced by a feeling of "understanding." She bit her lower lip, and finally nodded, her voice a little low: "...I understand. My sister...she must be waiting for Brother Suri to come back."

She looked up at Su Rui, forcing a smile that, though somewhat strained, was full of sincere blessings: "Then... Brother Su Rui, please be careful on your journey. The roads are slippery in the snow, so please be safe. Also... please give my regards to my sister. Tell her I'm fine and not to worry."

Looking at her forced smile, Su Rui felt a pang of tenderness. He nodded and whispered, "Yes. I will. You... take care of yourself too."

After saying that, Su Rui didn't linger. He took one last look at Enxia, ​​then turned around, opened the door, and silently slipped out, gently closing the door behind him, shutting out the warm and reluctant atmosphere that filled the room.

Encia stood there, listening to Suri's light and steady footsteps outside the door, quickly fading away until they disappeared at the end of the corridor. In the room, only she remained, along with the lingering, cool, and slightly chilly scent of another person.

She looked down at her bare feet on the soft carpet, then at the half-empty spot on the bed, and a wave of emptiness washed over her. But soon, she remembered her sister, the postcards her brother Su Rui had brought and the warm words he had written about her, the peaceful sleep she had enjoyed the previous night, and the gentle comfort she had received.

The sense of loss was replaced by a warm, hopeful feeling. At least, her sister was doing well on the Holy Mountain, and her brother Suri was by her side. And she, too, received her sister's concern and longing.

Encia took a deep breath, and a smile returned to her face. She walked to the window, gently lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked out at the still gray sky and the snow-covered, winding path leading to the holy mountain outside the manor.

When we left Shivaish Manor, the sky was still overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low over the mountain peaks, as if snow might fall at any moment. A biting wind swept up the unmelted snow from the ground, stinging our faces and bringing a chill to our bones.

Suri refused the carriage arranged by Enshia, wrapped herself tightly in her clothes, and set off alone on the snowy path back to the holy mountain. The fresh snow that had fallen the night before covered the original path, making it even more difficult and slippery to walk on than before. But Suri's steps were more hurried than before, as if something was chasing her from behind, or as if something was calling her from ahead.

He walked through the pine forest covered in thick snow, listening to the crunching sound of the snow under his feet and the faint howls of unknown wild animals in the distance. The cold wind lashed his cheeks like knives, but he seemed to feel little of the chill; only one thought occupied his mind: get back as quickly as possible.

He didn't return home all night. Although Yela said "okay," although it was to accompany Enshia, and although it was because traveling at night was dangerous... in Su Rui's heart, that inexplicable feeling, similar to "guilt," became clearer and clearer as he got closer and closer to the Holy Mountain Temple.

What would Enya think? Would she be worried? Or would she be unhappy that she had "taken the liberty" of staying overnight at Shivaesh's house? Although Enya was gentle and calm most of the time, Suri knew that she was not without temper, especially when it came to certain things that she cared about... for example, her sister, for example... him.

Enya's face involuntarily surfaced in his mind. Those brown eyes, always gentle and smiling, like the warm winter sun, now seemed, in his imagination, veiled in shadow by worry or… other emotions; her brows slightly furrowed, her lips tightly pressed together…

Suri quickened his pace unconsciously. He even started thinking about how to explain things when he saw Enya later. Should he tell her the truth? Should he tell her he was with Enya because it was dark and the roads were slippery? Would she believe him? Would she understand? Or…

His chaotic thoughts, like the swirling snowflakes, swirled in his mind. Unbeknownst to him, the majestic, pristine white snow-capped mountain, appearing especially solemn and sacred against the leaden sky, was now close at hand. The towering peaks of Manjushri Temple, against the somber sky, outlined cold, hard lines.

Su Rui took a deep breath of the cold, snowy air, suppressed the inexplicable unease in his heart, quickened his pace, and walked towards the temple halfway up the mountain that belonged to Enya and, for the time being, to him.

The area around the temple remained as silent as ever. Only the howling wind swirled the snow from the eaves, producing a mournful sound. The heavy stone doors were tightly shut, and the manjusaka patterns carved on them appeared somewhat blurred in the dim light.

Su Rui stood before the stone door, pausing for a moment. He raised his hand to straighten his collar and hair, which were slightly disheveled by the cold wind, and then patted the snowflakes clinging to his shoulders and the ends of his hair. Then, he reached out, placed his hand against the cold stone door, and pushed it open with force—

"Squeak..."

The heavy stone door creaked open slowly. Inside the temple, it was even darker than outside, with only the eternal flame burning deep within the hall, emitting a faint, constant light that barely dispelled the dense shadows, casting long, swaying shadows on the ground.

Su Rui stepped into the temple. The familiar scent, a blend of ancient wood, incense, and a faint herbal fragrance, wafted towards him, dispelling the chill from outside and instantly calming his restless heart, which had been agitated by his eagerness to get there and a nameless anxiety.

He reached out and tried to close the stone door to shut out the wind and snow outside.

However, just as he turned around, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a figure sitting in the shadows near the base of the wall inside the temple entrance.

Su Rui's movements abruptly stopped. He turned his head sharply, his gaze like lightning, shooting towards the shadow.

By the dim light of the ever-burning lamp, he could see clearly.

Volume 18, Chapter 1224: Crouching with Head in Hands for Defense

There, leaning against the cold stone wall, sat a person with their knees drawn up to their chest. She wore the simple yet thin holy maiden's robe, the white skirt spreading like petals across the cold ground. Her long, smooth, silvery-white hair was draped loosely over her shoulders, partially obscuring her face. She seemed to have been sitting there for some time; her body was stiff from the cold and prolonged sitting, and she was slightly curled up.

It's Enya.

She seemed not to have expected the door to be pushed open at this moment. The instant the stone door made a sound, she looked up slowly, somewhat bewildered.

When her gaze met that of Su Rui, who stood at the doorway still carrying the chill of the wind and snow outside, her always gentle and smiling brown eyes clearly reflected Su Rui's figure in the dim light.

Then, Su Rui saw those brown eyes, after the initial bewilderment and a barely perceptible ripple of "reassurance," quickly freeze, as if instantly transforming from a spring lake into a frozen winter surface. The gentleness and smile receded like the tide, replaced by a cold, oppressive anger that Su Rui had never seen on her face before…

In an instant, Enya's expression shifted from a mix of weariness and bewildered waiting to utter icy coldness. Her already fair skin appeared almost transparently pale in the dim light. She pressed her lips tightly together, the line drawn into a cold, straight line. Her usually gentle, arched eyes were now slightly furrowed, a layer of unyielding frost settling between her brows.

She didn't speak, but fixed her cold, piercing brown eyes firmly on Su Rui. Then, slowly, she released her arms from her knees, braced herself against the cold ground, and stood up somewhat stiffly.

Su Rui's heart skipped a beat the instant En Ya's gaze shifted. When he saw En Ya stand up and walk towards him step by step without saying a word, her gaze cold and almost unfamiliar, a chill instantly shot up Su Rui's spine to the top of his head!

This...this is unlike any of the scenarios he had anticipated!

He had anticipated that Enya would worry, ask questions, frown slightly in disapproval, and even... show a little, barely perceptible disappointment or displeasure. But he never imagined he would see Enya so cold, so oppressive! Those eyes, which always held a gentle moonlight, were now like a frozen lake, reflecting his somewhat helpless figure, making him feel a strange... guiltyness and... pressure.

Enya's steps were not fast, even somewhat slow from sitting for so long, but each step carried a heavy, undeniable weight, treading on the cold, smooth stone surface with a soft yet clear sound that echoed in the empty, silent temple. The sound seemed not to be treading on the ground, but rather on Su Rui's heart.

Her aura grew stronger as she approached. She was no longer the gentle and serene saintess he knew, but rather an ice goddess whose bottom line had been crossed, about to unleash divine punishment. Cold, majestic, and unapproachable.

Suri instinctively took a step back as Enya approached. His back pressed against the cold stone door he had just pushed open, which was not yet fully closed. The icy touch seeped through his clothes, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Um… Enya…” Suri tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse from the sudden tension and pressure. He wanted to explain, to tell her why he hadn’t come home that night, to tell her about Enya, to tell her that Yera knew…

However, Enya had already come to him.

She stopped, just a step away from Su Rui. Su Rui could even clearly see the cold, turbulent emotions in her eyes, and smell the familiar, herbal, and now chilling fragrance emanating from her. She was half a head shorter than Su Rui, but when she looked up at Su Rui, her icy gaze and the almost tangible pressure emanating from her gave Su Rui the illusion of being scrutinized from above.

Enya remained silent, her cold brown eyes fixed on him, as if scrutinizing, weighing, and waiting for his explanation, or as if no explanation was needed at all.

Suri felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze. The explanations he had prepared seemed to get stuck in his throat under her icy stare, and he couldn't utter a single word. He opened his mouth, trying to say something more, but Enya's tightly pursed lips, as if covered with a layer of frost, and the undeniable coldness in her eyes, rendered all his words a silent and futile effort.

An explanation? Under her gaze, any explanation seemed pale and powerless, even... like a sophistry.

A silent standoff stretched across the dimly lit temple entrance. Only the flickering light of the eternal lamps cast long, almost merging shadows of the two figures on the wall, swaying slightly with the dancing flames.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Su Rui could hear her heartbeat getting faster and faster, feel the coldness of her back against the stone door, and smell the familiar yet chilling scent emanating from En Ya.

Just when Suri thought Enya would continue to torment him with her icy gaze, or finally speak and question him in an equally cold tone—

Suddenly, almost imperceptibly, Enya took another half step forward.

The distance between them instantly shrank to the point where they could almost hear each other's breaths. Suri could even see her own reflection, tinged with panic and helplessness, in Enya's eyes.

The immense pressure hit her like a physical blow. For a fleeting moment, Suri's mind went blank due to tension, guilt, and Enya's unprecedented coldness and oppression. A near-instinctive defense mechanism, stemming from unpleasant past memories (like being pinned against a wall and kissed by a blond goat), activated before reason could react.

And so, under Enya's cold and penetrating gaze, in a tense atmosphere where the two were so close they could almost feel each other's breath—

Suri made a move that stunned Enya instantly, and that he himself later wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Suddenly, with almost lightning speed, before Enya could react at all, he raised his arms, crossed them to protect his head, and then his body naturally crouched down—

Cover your head and crouch down in defense.

Volume 18, Chapter 1225: I am full of majesty!

A standard, non-aggressive, even somewhat comical defensive stance that conveys the message "I'm sorry, don't hit me."

The moment he made that move, Suri regretted it. A wave of immense shame washed over him! Good heavens! What was he doing?! He had done something like this in front of Enya… something only children do when they can't win a fight?! And the target was Enya! The gentle, quiet Enya who rarely even raised her voice!

Su Rui felt his cheeks, along with his ears and neck, instantly turn bright red! He could even feel the rush of blood to his head! He lowered his head tightly, burying his face in his crossed arms, wishing he could disappear on the spot immediately, or turn back time to the second before he pushed open the stone door!

However, the expected cold words or further "interrogation" did not come.

An eerie, deathly silence fell over the temple.

Only Surina's heavy breathing, made up of shame and nervousness, sounded exceptionally clear in the empty hall.

Suri remained in that shameful, crouching position with his head in his hands, not daring to move. He could even feel Enya's gaze, as if it were a physical object, falling on his lowered head and his defenseless, seemingly helpless, curled-up back.

Time ticked by, second by second. Each second felt like an eternity to Su Rui. He could almost hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Then, he heard a very faint, breathy sound, as if it came from his nose...

"Humph."

The voice was very soft, very brief, and even carried a barely perceptible tremor, as if it were a tiny crack leaking from an extremely tense emotion.

Immediately afterwards, Su Rui felt the icy, heavy oppression that had enveloped him recede rapidly, like a receding tide. The chill that had almost frozen him also seemed to have dissipated considerably.

He heard a very faint sigh, which seemed to carry a sense of helplessness and a hint of amusement.

Then, a pair of cool, yet soft hands landed on the arms he was using to protect his head. Those hands, with their familiar warmth and an undeniable, yet no longer icy, strength, gently but firmly pried his arms off his head...

Suri's body remained stiff with shame and nervousness. He was forced to raise his head and meet Enya's gaze.

Those brown eyes were no longer the icy, chilling eyes that seemed capable of freezing one. The coldness melted away like snow under the sun, replaced by a complex emotion that Su Rui couldn't fully decipher—a mixture of helplessness, amusement, and lingering anger, but more than anything, a feeling of... a wry smile and a gentle sense of relief.

The icy chill on Enya's face had mostly faded. Although her brows were still slightly furrowed and her lips were still pursed, at least it wasn't as suffocatingly cold as before. Looking at Su Rui's face, flushed with shame and with her hair slightly disheveled from burying her head in her hands, making her appear both pitiful and comical, the remaining anger in her eyes seemed to be replaced by a stronger emotion called "helplessness."

"Get up." Enya's voice rang out, still somewhat cold, but the oppressive feeling from before was gone, replaced by a barely perceptible gentleness that even she herself hadn't noticed. She used force to pull Suri up from the ground.

Like a puppet on a string, Suri was pulled up from the ground by Enya, still somewhat dazed. He kept his head down, not daring to look into Enya's eyes, and the blush on his face and behind his ears showed no signs of fading.

Enya released her grip on Su Rui's arm and took a half-step back, widening the distance between them. Looking at Su Rui's expression, as if he wanted to bury his head in the ground, and recalling his sudden, comical, and somewhat childish crouching posture with his head in his hands, the anger and coldness that had accumulated in her heart from a night of waiting, worry, and some other indescribable emotion had largely dissipated.

Instead, a complex mix of exasperation, amusement, and unbearable heartache arose within her. What on earth was this guy thinking? Was she really that scary? He was actually so frightened that he crouched down, covering his head?

Enya took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, seemingly trying to calm her still somewhat turbulent emotions. Then, looking at Su Rui, who was still keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact, she finally spoke, asking the question that had been lingering in her mind ever since Su Rui entered. Her voice had returned to its usual gentleness, but still carried a subtle, lingering chill:

"Tell me. Where did you go last night? What did you do?"

Her gaze fell calmly on Su Rui, no longer cold, but still carrying an unavoidable, expectant tone.

When Su Rui heard En Ya finally speak to him in a relatively normal tone (though still a bit cold), the tension in his heart eased slightly. He still didn't dare to look up, only staring at the tips of his boots, which were stained with a few snow and mud stains. In a slightly dry voice, tinged with lingering shame, he quietly and meticulously recounted the events of the previous afternoon: comforting En Ya in the greenhouse, the two of them falling asleep, being "carried" back to his room, En Ya secretly coming to talk to him that evening, and finally deciding to stay overnight because it was late and the roads were dark and unsafe. Of course, he omitted certain details, such as En Ya crying while hugging him, and the fact that they slept in the same bed (although nothing happened), only saying that they rested separately.

He spoke slowly and in great detail, his tone sincere, even carrying a hint of... flattery (?). As he spoke, he secretly glanced up to observe Enya's expression.

Enya listened quietly, her expression shifting from initial calm to a slight furrow of brow and heartache when she heard Enya cry because of Silver Ash, then a barely perceptible tenderness flashing in her eyes when she heard Su Rui's clumsy words of comfort, and finally, when she heard that Su Rui decided to stay overnight because she was worried about Su Rui's safety while traveling at night, the last bit of coldness in her eyes melted away completely, like thin ice under the spring sun.

Looking at Su Rui, who still had his head down, his ears red, and looked like a little animal waiting to be punished for doing something wrong, and recalling his earlier comical and exasperating act of crouching down with his head in his hands, the last bit of "anger" she felt from worry and some other indescribable emotion completely vanished.

Volume 18, page 1226: Remember to make it clear.

That idiot… comforting Enxia, ​​staying with her, worrying about the dangers at night… all for Enxia's sake. What reason did she have to really blame him? She was just angry, angry that he hadn't come home all night without a word, making her worry all night long, sitting at the cold doorway, waiting from midnight until dawn, her mind racing with countless possibilities, the more she thought, the more afraid and angry she became…

But now, seeing him return safely, hearing his clumsy yet sincere explanation, and even being left speechless by his sudden, comical action... all the anger seems to have dissipated.

Enya sighed softly again. This time, the sigh was no longer cold, but full of helplessness and a hint of indulgent softness that she herself did not even realize.

She reached out, but this time, instead of pulling on Su Rui's arm, she gently placed her hand on Su Rui's head and ruffled his silver hair, which had become somewhat disheveled from the earlier action and the snowstorm along the way.

"Next time... remember to make it clear in advance." Enya's voice had completely returned to its usual gentleness, but it still carried a barely perceptible hint of "don't do it again" in its admonition. "At least... let me know that you are safe."

Suri felt a gentle, cool touch on his head, and his body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment. Then, his body, which had been tense with shame, slowly relaxed. He looked up and met Enya's brown eyes, which were now filled with the gentle moonlight once more.

Those eyes no longer held coldness or anger, only concern, helplessness, and a faint, relieved smile.